I think it's a two-pronged answer. First, in this economy, high-end audio and video (while essential to me) move to the bottom of the list. Second, and perhaps more significant, the children of the baby-boomers, now reaching their peak purchasing power, did not invest (or waste, as my parents put it) the time in listening to music as the focus of their social scene as I and my friends did. My son had the benefit of growing up with good music and good equipment to listen through, but quality sound is much lower in his hierarchy of needs than mine. He is happy with private listening through his ipod and social 'listening' to background music through a mediocre system. He'd rather spend $1,000-2,000 per year going to concerts and carry the memories in his pocket.